


anybody can be good to you

by doubtthestars



Category: Football RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Footy Ficathon, M/M, TA Toni, Unresolved Sexual Tension, pop culture references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 19:30:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,451
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3662262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doubtthestars/pseuds/doubtthestars
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Isco crashes into his life like a wrecking ball. Toni is mildly upset about the development. </p>
<p>6+1 snapshots of their relationship.</p>
            </blockquote>





	anybody can be good to you

**Author's Note:**

> for the prompt at the new ficathon:
> 
> “He gets distracted by loud noises, the color red, smooth jazz, shiny things, food smells, music boxes, boobs, barking dogs, and anyone saying, ‘look over there!’”

“He gets distracted by loud noises, the color red, smooth jazz, shiny things, food smells, music boxes, boobs, barking dogs, and anyone saying, ‘look over there!’” Toni flops onto the couch Mario is occupying. He isn't aware on how the conversation turned from who was going to get dinner into talking about Isco but really, all his conversations ended up in his terrible, no good, constant thoughts on the subject.

"You're in love with a puppy." Mario doesn't deadpan but it's close enough that Toni wants to throw his sweaty socks in his face just to watch him freak out. Mario eyeballs him like he knows something is going to happen to his moisturized baby face but after scrutinizing, decides the television is worth more of his attention than Toni's woes. What a great best friend. 

"Yeah, well, you're in love with a chickenhead." He adds lamely, after twenty seconds of silence. His comebacks were never timed right, he regrets ever opening his mouth.

The list is damning indicative of the nature of his problem and he stews in woe-is-me for far longer than he should because isn't the whole crushing on someone thing supposed to die out after you're older and wiser and drowning in post-graduate work? At least he wasn't directly his TA because Toni was never fond of the student-teacher relations joke. The image of Isco dressing up like Britney Spears in that one music video complete with pompoms in a wig pops into his head and he doesn't know whether to cry or laugh. 

"Oh christ, you think too loud. I'll go get the takeout. Maybe eggrolls will shut you up." Mario complains as if he were actually engrossed in the telenovela on the screen. He grabs his keys from the table (they shared a car, which was so unfortunate in Toni's case) and doesn't bother lacing his shoes. Toni viciously thinks that if Mario tripped on the four story walk down, he deserves it.

Isco's voice pops up in his head, the routine stair-taking was the reason his ass was shaping up to be like one of those rap guy's girlfriend's, Becky. Toni groans. 

**loud noises**

James Rodriguez was pretty dismal in economics and Toni felt like every red mark of his pen was the equivalent of telling a whining puppy it couldn't go outside to play or something because that puppy really needed to understand how slack variables worked. 

It was after an aforementioned marked up paper came into James' possession that Toni met Isco. Office hours didn't really exist for Toni because his whole time on campus was a giant office hour between classes and eating. He knows he is young and relatable but if he had a euro for every time a student wanted a word outside of class and his official helping hours, he'd be able to afford to kick Mario out.

("You made the whole nerd thing work for you in college. Live a little, bang somebody or something." Mario was an asshole friend)

So he was explaining math to James and hoping the man had chosen intro to econ as an elective because he wasn't sure how any professor dealt with the wounded bambi eyes along with a furrowed brow of confusion. Toni accepted his lot in life at being good with numbers and political science but not so great with opening his mouth and letting his thoughts come out. He was sure James Rodriguez was the complete opposite. He did well enough with the essays, if not being a little verbose, but the math was killing his grade.

It wasn't often that the stairs sounded like a herd of elephants were coming down it and it distracts both of them into looking up. The bearded guy immediately latches onto James. 

"I'm a starving man and you're still in here talking about math, boring. So James, who's your friend?" The tone and attached arm around Jame's shoulder would suggest some sort of suspicion, but it was almost teasing and James had faint redness in his cheeks. Toni extended a hand. 

"Toni Kroos." James is trying to wiggle out of the hold. Toni is completely perplexed as the man ignores his hand.

"Isco, so you're the one all the whispers are about, German right? I mean, Kroos, yeah, it's totally got that guttural vowel thing going. Do you eat Kroos, would you want to eat with us? I harass my uncle who owns a restaurant to give us freebies. Do you like ice cream, are you a vanilla guy?" He says Kroos with an exaggerated roll of his tongue and Toni isn't sure why it's any different than the usual botched attempts he hears except Isco of no last name had said it correctly the first time. 

Toni felt a heat crawl up from the collar of his shirt to match James' mortified face. 

"You don't have to! I'm sure you have other things to do." He squeaks out, panicked and red in the face. Was Isco choking him or was James...Toni gets hit with the realization that Isco was wingman-ning. The thud of the next door room's blackboard being slammed startles all of them and Isco grabs his arm in a squeeze.

"What the hell was that?" Toni didn't know if it constituted as copping a feel but it felt that way with this guy.

Both Toni and James look at each other and answered, "Professor Iniesta."

\---

**color red**

"Aww, Jamesito why are you so red? Too many half-naked bodies around. Here take this." Isco drapes his star trek command insignia towel on James' shoulder and shoves his beer into the Colombian's hand. Toni is fully dressed even though Cris underlined the part about swimsuits. Cristiano had a Jaws print pair of shorts on which was apt because he was one. An overly tanned, already increasing his portfolio by taking the stock market by the balls, semi-wealthy shark and Toni knew beneath those tacky trunks was a speedo waiting to be unveiled at the best opportunity. 

Isco hummed the theme song as he slid by him and Toni averted his eyes from Cris. After their initial meeting, it seemed like their social circle got smaller or Toni was just more aware of his presence. James, he already knew hung around Cris' vast and always increasing friend group but he hadn't noticed Isco at any of these functions before and Toni didn't think it was possible to miss someone as _loud_ as Isco. He was vibrant and always in motion, trying to rope his shyer friends into mayhem. 

The pair reminded him of Holger and Thomas before he moved away, except tanner and more good-looking.

"I hope you're planning on revealing swim trunks under those khakis or else Cris will force you to choose from his collection and you won't be able to stop him." Sami has a cup of rum and coke because it's his classic choice and sunglasses that make him look like an extra in Law & Order: Miami edition.

"I don't see you in swim attire either, Sami." A sly smile crosses his face and Toni forgot how much he hates sunglasses for the very reason you can't look into someone's eyes as you have a conversation.

"Maybe I'll jump in with this on." A pause where Toni's eyebrow's climb higher, the longer it takes Sami to continue. "Nah, I have a change of clothes." 

"What makes you think I don't have one as well?" Sami's smile contorts around a laugh.

"Because you look like you came straight over from teaching, even though it's a Saturday." Toni mumbles something unfavorable under his breath because Sami might have been his friend longer but at least Mesut taught him curse words in Turkish. 

Cris is weaving his way through the crowd and Toni goes to get a drink before Sami's prediction comes true. He doesn't look good in speedos, he knows that much. Isco has somehow found a bendy straw for his cup of questionably red liquid. It looked a little like he was sucking down blood with the fluorescent green of the straw making the red darker.

"What's your poison for tonight, Kroos?" Toni looks around the marble island to see the vast array of bottles. He squints for a bit in contemplation and decides to stick with a familiar brand.

"Tequila, are you my bartender for tonight?" Isco hoots as he hops off his chair and rummages around the fridge. Toni grabs the bottle in a desperate bid to stall whatever Isco is planning.

"Well seeing as Marcelo just left with Catalina from Speech Pathology. I'm the only one here who knows to imbibe the battery acid he left behind in the punch bowl." Toni's back is still stiff in his backless stool but Isco doesn't seem like he is going to do anything. Maybe he had a sudden burst of appetite. Mario cackled in the back of his mind. 

Toni looks for the cheap plastic cups before Isco sets two tiki shot glasses in front of him with a knowing look. 

"Um," The Spaniard pulled a bag of limes out of his pocket and shrugged.

"Can't do tequila shots without it right?" Toni tries to control the temperature of his face but it is a failing enterprise and has been since he developed enough hormones to notice attractive people sharing the same space as him. Isco pours two messy shots, filling the colorful glasses to the brim. There's no salt but Toni reasons he doesn't need it, his throat is already drying up as it is. 

"Cheers," Isco fingers are wet from the tequila overflowing. Toni carefully picks up his own and tips it towards Isco before downing it. 

"What the fuck." Isco's exclamation makes him choke a little as he turns around to see Cristiano standing there in a sequin red _thong_ barely covering him. 

"Don't tell me you started body shots without me. Where's Marcelo, he owes me some money." Toni sucks on the lime wedge to stop himself from bashing his head into the counter.

\---

**smooth jazz and shiny things**

He doesn't expect much when James and Isco invite him over to their shared house with Marcelo. He's not expecting anything really, but his go to reaction for these kind of friendship inductions is a churning stomach of anxiety. Toni liked to think he was just really bad at making friends, being sort of awkward with small talk and not liking to talk about himself was detrimental to getting to know people.

During university, his circle tripled in size somehow. Mostly it was made up of people stubborn and unwilling to give up on getting him out there. Mario had somehow ended up bumping into him in the cafeteria after the first day of classes and stuck around. Sami was his roommate sophomore year and dragged him to lowkey house parties that his honor society threw. Thomas always rang around the holidays and Cris had found him in his graduate studies to throw some business proposals at his head.

He knocks on the door. 

"You've got a policeman's knock." Isco opens the door with gloves on but isn't covered with anything questionable so Toni steps inside without much trepidation of getting slimed or something of the sort. 

"Does your door get knocked on by the police a lot then?" He's half-serious with the question but mostly curious at the small grin that makes him look like a teenager. He hears Michael Jackson's 'Beat It' coming from another room. The entrance has some scattered rugs on wooden floors and the kitchen isn't big but it is bright. There's a low wall partition that gives you a view of the living room. 

"My dad is a cop. I know what it sounds like, but that doesn't mean we haven't had our share of noise complaints, Officer Kroos." He winks and an unbidden smile is pulled from Toni. By now, he knows Isco flirts with anyone that walks by and will give him a reaction, but he's sincere with the affection and compliments. 

"Didn't take you as a MJ fan, Mr. Noise Complaint." He still doesn't know Isco's last name and Isco definitely lords the knowledge of his every chance he gets. Toni has tried to get out of their mutual friends but it's a giant game of 'get creative and figure it out yourself'. He guesses he could just search on Facebook but that would require him to reactivate his account.

"Who isn't a fan of the King of Pop, but that's not my record, it's Marcelo's." Isco goes back to washing dishes with his rubber gloves and Toni watches from the partition in the hallway. In the glare of the kitchen light, he sees the brown in his dark hair and beard. 

"Did you say record?" Toni rewinds their conversation in his head. Definitely said record. 

"Yep," the 'p' is popped and he tilts his head in the direction of the living room. "It's in there. Nothing fancy or big but my momma raised me right. vinyl or bust." A music purist he didn't expect. Toni walks to the small record player shaped like a luggage case. There are two bins full of sleeves and records and he takes his time perusing them. He sees a lot of Spanish artists mixed with popular English ones. Sean Paul definitely had to be Marcelo's but it was a toss up for the Madonna record. 

He started compiling a mental list of the most likely owner of each. The door knob jiggled with the arrival of James with boxes of pizza, distracting him from the second bin. 

"Ah, my son, you've come back with the provisions. Did you get paper plates? I just did the dishes." James kicks off his wet boots and Toni suddenly looks down to his own shoes. Should he have taken them off?

"Yes, I remembered, Isco." James sounds exasperated and Toni feels a touch of blame since they just had an exam in Econ not even two hours ago. 

"Toni! You're here. So that's your car in my spot, hm?" James teases as he greets him with a hug.

"I hope you like pepperoni and extra cheese because we're boring and James thinks he's gonna gain weight instantly if he eats bacon." Isco calls out, already placing greasy slices on plates. James huffs in annoyance but goes back into the kitchen to mess with Isco's hair as revenge. Toni stares again as they dance around each other with ease. Isco evades the fridge door with a finishing crotch grab and a 'ha!' in a Michael Jackson imitation. 

"Drink, Toni?" James asks as he takes out a water jug.

"Water's fine, um, where's your bathroom?" Isco points up as he laughs over something said that Toni didn't catch. 

He walks up to see a door with a brazilian flag to his far right and the door in front of him with a wooden rosary around the doorknob. He guesses and finds the door between them has a toilet and shower. After calming down in front of the mirror and peeing out the coffee he had in the afternoon, Toni finds himself wandering into the partially open door of the last room. He's faced with a colorful room, but what catches his attention is the framed certificate on the wall by the drawers. 

"Francisco R. Alarcon Suarez won first place in a robotics competition." He repeats to himself. It is with a bit of smug triumph that he goes down the stairs. 

The record has changed to Ella Fitzgerald and James is fiddling with a controller while Isco makes faces at the choices on his instant queue. The jazz throws him off for a moment but he recovers smoothly.

"Francisco Alarcon." They both look up, responding to the name. James turns to Isco with a deer in the headlights look.

"You went into my room?" _You go to my head like a sip of sparkling burgundy brew_ Ella croons in the frozen moment before Isco's lips tilt into a smile and Toni stops holding his breath. 

"Sneaky, Officer Kroos. You get points. Now sit down and eat. Ella waits for no man but she is always dinner appropriate." James shakes his head as if he's heard it before and Toni should have known the jazz albums were his.

\---  
**food smells**

James texts him with more exclamation marks than usual that he has a study group and if he can check on Isco because he's a giant baby when he's sick and will not fend for himself from the couch. Toni takes one look at the papers he has to grade and leaves a note for Mario that he's taking the car. He texts him for good measure and gets back a series of emoji vegetables. 

The spare key is taped inside the mailbox and Toni has to sacrifice a styrofoam container for a moment to get it. It is weird to open the door for himself and see the house quiet and dark. It wasn't as inviting as it would be if any of its residents were up and about. He drops his satchel by the door and deposits his food in the kitchen. 

There is a moment when he is taking out the bowls that a funny feeling rises in his chest. Domesticity is something Toni never longed for but here he is heating up some soup and somehow it feels different than picking up the same thing for Mario. 

He is careful with the bowl as he goes up the stairs and nudges the door open with a socked foot. Isco looks miserable even asleep, with the red covers up to his neck. Toni knocks over a tissue box to put down the bowl of soup.

"Hey, wake up, Isco." Toni's hand is cool in contrast to Isco's forehead but he doesn't feel feverish. His hair is getting longer and he absently pushes it back with his fingers. 

"Toni?" Isco croaks out with a bit of difficulty. 

"I have Italian wedding soup. James couldn't make it to be your nurse tonight." There is a wet cough in place of a laugh but he gets the sentiment. He helps him sit up and realizes the Spaniard isn't wearing a shirt. Toni puts it to the back of his mind, compartmentalizing until later when he can deal with it. He does note he's wearing a little gold medallion, the kind for saints and believers.

"The kind with the little meatballs?" It is pathetically adorable and Toni really is as far gone as Mario has told him time and time again. 

He nods, "Yeah." Isco smiles gratefully.

"You're the best. James gives me that crap chicken soup in a can." He has a bout of coughing before Toni hands him the bowl. It is odd to monitor Isco eating but it's as engrossing as the Olympics to watch him spoon up broth. James did say to take care of him and that was what he was doing. 

"Alright, rest up some more. If you need anything, I'll be downstairs." 

He doesn't know what to do for the remainder of the night besides actual work, so Toni turns the floor lamps on and the television for background noise. Around thirty papers afterwards, he heats up the chicken tikka masala leftover from his lunch with Benni. His left eye is twitching a bit at the completely random spewing of some of his students. It was like they played Mad Libs with their class vocabulary. 

"What's that smell?" Toni jumps. Isco looks much better than before which is probably a direct result of the shower running earlier. His back is hiding his dinner but that doesn't stop Isco from looking like a cobra in search for a meal, swaying a bit in order to get a look.

"Is it curry, is it for me? I might marry you if you have naan bread." Toni flushes a little. 

"No, I mean, yes, it's dinner for the both of us. I don't have bread but I have biryani and chicken tikka masala." Isco groans in delight and makes grabby hands. 

"You can stay indefinitely if you keep spoiling me like this, Kroos. I'll kick Marcelo and James out." His voice is deeper and mangled from his cold but there's an edge to it that Toni doesn't know how to decipher so he deflects.

"Oh, so you're the one with the veto power in the house?" He turns back to serving equal portions of the food. Isco sneezes and grabs his wrist. 

"Yes, but really, thanks Toni, you didn't have to do this." He shrugs off his hand to get the rice. "You're my friend, Isco."

\---  
**music boxes**

"Seriously who gets married in December, like why the fuck?" James looks a little bedraggled as Isco is outright annoyed. Toni got roped into day two of the perfect gift expedition. They must have run out of ideas because scoping out an antique store for a gift was definitely a stretch. 

It was a big store and dividing to conquer the space was a smart idea but Toni was too wary of Isco messing with something or accidentally breaking a display with his contained flurry of motion. James silently wandered off as Toni kept a few paces behind Isco. 

"Don't treat me with kid gloves, Toni. I'm not going to go smashing plates because I'm irritated." He rounded a corner into a stall to look around. Toni picked up a statue of a couple dancing. 

"Does it look like them? You could say it does. It's only, oh," He pulls a disgusted face. Fourty-five for a glorified paperweight. Were gift cards too tacky for weddings? Toni was suddenly glad Felix wasn't old enough to think about marriage and most of his friends were dreading the commitment. 

Isco laughed at his face and Toni felt a little better for it. It was strange to see Isco in a foul mood and he wasn't the best at consoling or giving people advice. There seemed to be bad blood between the cousins and Isco wasn't saying much besides 'cabron' and calling the groom to be a snake. 

He flicked a marble among old costume jewelry on the table. He heard a tiny melody chime out and saw a tiny music box in Isco's hands and a gentle smile on his face. 

"My niece, well his daughter, I just call her my niece, would love this. She's used to run up to the piano in our old church. It would give my aunt a heart attack every time." He looks at it closer and it is a miniaturized gold piano with roses and leaves in ornate designs around it. Beneath the tiny keyboard is a glass panel to watch the music box work. 

"Let's split it then. You being there should be enough a gift. I think James has probably collapsed somewhere from hunger. We can swing by somewhere and eat." Toni grabs it from his hands and takes long strides out of the booth, not even checking the price tag. He hazards a guess to where the registers are and texts James to meet them there. 

"Toni, wait, what are you doing?" Isco bumps into him when he stops. 

"Trying to find the registers. How did you even find the place? Why is it so damn big." Isco is at his side easily keeping pace and he definitely prefers his confusion over his sullenness. 

"Toni, I can't buy that for a wedding gift." He rolls his eyes but doesn't hand over the piano at Isco's tug of his sleeve. 

"Just give them the money equivalent to whatever you were gonna get and give this to your niece when you see her at the wedding. At least something good came out of this, right? You've shot down every other suggestion and dragged James to how many stores because of it. So, we're buying the music box okay?" He sees James with a megawatt smile and a green smoothie in his hand. 

The traitor went to the health bar across from the store without them. 

Toni smiles in relief at the cashier and slides a crisp bill out of his wallet. "Fifteen, Isco. James seems to have went ahead of schedule." James' smile slides off his face with an ounce of guilt. 

"I had an 8 AM class today, I was going to die." James whines and Isco puts his part on the counter. The older woman gives the change to Toni and the bag with a securely wrapped up antique.

"Don't think I didn't notice you paid more than I did. I'm buying dinner." Isco whispers in the car. Toni laughs as he starts humming the melody of 'the impossible dream' exactly the tune of the music box.

 

\---  
**boobs**

Beyonce was blaring in the club and Toni was uncomfortably hot in his leather jacket, a present from Felix. Mario had told him if he didn't wear it at least once annually he would rat him out. Little brothers knew how little brothers worked and it really was a nice jacket, threatening aside. It was Luka's birthday and it seemed like most of the group showed up to buy him a drink. Toni stuck to beer since it was a Thursday and he didn't want a hangover to interfere for his friday morning class. 

An arm swung around his neck and an unsteady body crashed into his side. 

"Tonii," Isco cooed into his cheek with a sloppy kiss to greet him and suddenly Toni felt like maybe he was late to the party because he had never seen the younger man as drunk as he appeared right now. 

"Isco, how much have you had?" He didn't let go and Toni slid an arm around his waist to support him. The Spaniard shrugged and looked a little bit more focused on Toni as he hailed a bartender down. Toni winced as Isco stepped closer and propped his head on his shoulder. An odd thought popped into his head, there was definitely no room for Jesus between them. 

The bartender looked annoyed at him blanking out but he ignored it in favor for being hyper-aware of Isco's breath on his neck. He wondered what she thought of them, what they probably looked like to the outside world. Jesus, this was becoming a problem, a huge problem and he was painfully aware that Isco wasn't interested.

"A water and a beer, please." He feels more than sees the pout of Isco's mouth. 

"It's too early for water." The slurring is a concern but Toni can't think beyond his lips brushing his earlobe and his heart is working double time because fuck, if this wasn't the closest he's been to anybody in a while. Isco is drunk, he chants, trying to tamp down the swirl of emotions his body has been caught in.

The tickle of his beard is distracting. As Toni wiggles his wallet out of his pocket to pay, he hears Isco give a sort of hiccuped gasp crossed with a wisp of a laugh. 

"Are you alright?" He nods and Toni swallows reflexively as the tickle goes into motion across a patch of skin. 

"She has nice breasts." The nodding continues into some sort of nuzzle and Toni's not sure if he should even try to drink anymore because it seemed he was getting drunk by the power of osmosis. His eyes track down the bartender but her back is to them now and really, it didn't matter. 

"I didn't notice." He hopes he doesn't sound as breathless as he feels. Isco stops moving, mumbling something into the leather covering his shoulder. It sounded like 'do you ever notice' and Toni frowns. The Spaniard pulls away, leaving Toni feeling colder in the sweltering heat of packed bodies. 

"Keep my water, gonna go dance." Toni doesn't know what the abrupt change meant but he doesn't get a chance to ask as Isco melts into the dance floor of gyrating bodies. Something like jealousy rises in his throat as the next time he sees him is with a pretty girl close enough to kiss, dancing with him. Dani says something and Toni misses Isco watching him back.

\---  
**barking dogs and 'hey, look over there'**

They were going to a fair. Toni had wanted to catch up on sleep during the break but most of everybody ganged up on him to go with them. It was how he ended up squeezed between Mesut and Dani with his bedhead still rampant. At least the backseat of Sami's car wasn't as uncomfortable as Sergio's. 

"Is it going to be cold?" He asked Mesut who was wearing a skinny scarf around his neck. He blushed and Toni slapped a hand to his head.

"Sorry Mes, I'm half-awake. Bold fashion choice." Toni tried to settle in to catch a few more minutes of sleep and managed it somehow, nodding off without knowing until Dani nudged him back to the land of the living and noise. Isco was tapping on the window with a deranged smile on his face.

He rubs at his eyes just to be sure it wasn't some other lunatic. Nope, still Isco. 

The problem with Isco acting normally is Toni had to pretend that nothing had changed. Sami distracts Isco with Pancho who had shotgun by virtue of being his dog and too large to fit with the other humans in the back. 

Isco is like an overgrown child blowing through the stalls. The others had designated him his overseer since "they had shit to work out" in Cristiano's words. He had to count that as benevolence since he wouldn't put it past them to lock them in a closet to get them to talk about it. 

Outwardly, Isco is fine. There is nothing to pinpoint as off but James is acting like the apocalypse is upon then because he wont talk to him. Toni doesn't want to upset the balance they have by confessing his feelings. It's all fine has been his mantra since Luka's birthday. He even accepted the well meaning blind date offer set up by Benni. 

"I know you're not this stupid. Toni, you're not the Tinman anymore. You never needed a brain, your heart was always the problem and your heart is telling you to go for it but your brain is fucking it all up." Mario pointed with an half-eaten spring roll. 

"My brain is being reasonable, you asshole." He picks at his noodles and debates if he should just call off the blind date because no one in the whole wide world is telling him that it's a good idea and it's great that he's getting out there, of course no one else is his mother. 

"You brain. is. fucking. it. up." Mario repeats slowly. Toni stares, Mario hold it until he needs to blink and throws his hands in the air. 

"Nope, this is stupid. Here, I have proof. I knew the day would come." He swipes at his phone and gives him the device with a picture of him and Isco at a party. There isn't anything out of the ordinary that he can see but Mario is peeved enough. 

"Go through the folder. If you don't think he's giving you heart eyes as much as you do, then you're blind." Toni keeps swiping and feels enough hope balloon in his chest that he tells Benni that he won't be able to make it to dinner double date after all. 

It still doesn't make anything easier to deal with and Toni isn't equipped to make declarations of any sort. 

Dusk is settling in purpling skies and they are sitting on a hill, waiting for the fireworks to start. 

"Toni," Isco is thrown into shadows by orange-gold and Toni could kiss him if he weren't such a coward. He swallows down surprise when Isco's hand settles on top of his. He takes a mile with the inch given and turns over his hand to hold Isco's. There is a silent heartbeat of a moment where they both stare. Toni with a question and Isco with the answer. 

"Stop massacring the grass." He grins and Toni looks down to see the blade of grass all ripped up in his anxiety. 

"Hey, look," Isco points up at the sky. Toni cranes his neck and feels Isco kiss his cheek. 

"Sorry, thought I saw the fireworks start." He holds his hand tighter and smiles.

The fireworks show doesn't compare to when they kiss goodbye, even with the catcalls.

**Author's Note:**

> If the characterization is totally off, mea culpa. As always ficathon brings out some new ship fics for me. Comments appreciated.


End file.
